How JustAnswer Works:

Experts are full of valuable knowledge and are ready to help with any question. Credentials confirmed by a Fortune 500 verification firm.

Get a Professional Answer

Via email, text message, or notification as you wait on our site.Ask follow up questions if you need to.

100% Satisfaction Guarantee

Rate the answer you receive.

Ask JB Umphrey Your Own Question

JB Umphrey, Attorney

Category: Legal

Satisfied Customers: 20232

Experience: Explains legal matters based on 14+ years experience.

14211116

Type Your Legal Question Here...

JB Umphrey is online now

I wasnt given the opportunity to respond to a motion which

Resolved Question:

I wasn't given the opportunity to respond to a motion which led to a judgement against me to pay attorneys fees for a civil case we lost on a technicality. Were my due process rights violated and if so what can I do to have the judgement overturned?

It was entered maybe 3 weeks ago. We had initially received a judgement against a corporation in Hawaii for a lawsuit we had filed accusing the company of fraud and misrepresentation in a franchise purchase. The suit went unanswered by the defendant. It was overturned because of jurisdiction this summer and now the defendant filed a motion to recover attorney's fees. Her attorney never sent that motion to us and a request to the court to file a proper response went unanswered by the judge. The judge ruled in the defendants favor because of a so-called non-reply. We were twice denied the opportunity to respond and now have a judgement for $7500 against us that we can't afford to pay. Our attorney suggested we try to negotiate a fair settlement, but the defendant won't negotiate. He suggests that we file bankruptcy but our credit is over 800 and we pay all our bills on time.

Yes. Exactly. We stated that to the judge in a subsequent reply, and the defendants attorney claimed that he had sent it but agreed to allow us to respond after the fact, even stating he did not want to have our due process rights violated. Our attorney told us to call the court's clerk and request that the judge allow us an opportunity to respond and were told we would be notified of the judge's ruling on our request by mail. Several weeks later we recieved a judgement in the mail stating we failed to reply and she was awarded $7500 of the requested amount of $9200. All this legal work occured as the result of one judge overturning a judgement another had granted us based on the fact that the defendant wasn't present for the judgement hearing and the jurisdiction for the suit should have been in Hawaii, facts that the initial judge was well aware of before granting us the judgement in the first place.

Your attorney is free to file a motion for reconsideration with the judge to have the judgment set aside. In that motion for reconsideration, the attorney can outline what the problem was and why the judge's decision on the judgment is in error and should be set aside.

That is a quicker process than trying to file an appeal.

It has been my pleasure to assist you today with your information needs. If you have a follow-up question, please reply and ask it.

If you are satisfied that your question has been answered, kindly select the ACCEPT button to close this thread and so that I receive credit for assisting you today.

He mentioned that option but said that even if the judge decides the judgement is in error and sets it aside, defendants counsel can refile the motion seeking attorneys fees and we risk the chance we have another judgement against us for significantly more as more hours will be tacked on. We just want this to end affordably. He says that bankruptcy is our best option. What would you do?

I will tell you that...the things you have to go through to be an Expert are quite rigorous.

What Customers are Saying:

Mr. Kaplun clearly had an exceptional understanding of the issue and was able to explain it concisely. I would recommend JustAnswer to anyone. Great service that lives up to its promises!Gary B.Edmond, OK

Mr. Kaplun clearly had an exceptional understanding of the issue and was able to explain it concisely. I would recommend JustAnswer to anyone. Great service that lives up to its promises!Gary B.Edmond, OK

My Expert was fast and seemed to have the answer to my taser question at the tips of her fingers. Communication was excellent. I left feeling confident in her answer.EricRedwood City, CA

I am very pleased with JustAnswer as a place to go for divorce or criminal law knowledge and insight.
MichaelWichita, KS

PaulMJD helped me with questions I had regarding an urgent legal matter. His answers were excellent. Three H.Houston, TX

Anne was extremely helpful. Her information put me in the right direction for action that kept me legal, possible saving me a ton of money in the future. Thank you again, Anne!! ElaineAtlanta, GA

It worked great. I had the facts and I presented them to my ex-landlord and she folded and returned my deposit. The 50 bucks I spent with you solved my problem. TonyApopka, FL

Not only did he answer my Michigan divorce question but was also able to help me out with it, too. I have since won my legal case on this matter and thank you so much for it. LeeMichigan

Ask a Lawyer

Get a Professional Answer. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.

62 Lawyers are Online Now

Type Your Legal Question Here...

characters left:

DISCLAIMER: Answers from Experts on JustAnswer are not substitutes for the advice of an attorney. JustAnswer is a public forum and questions and responses are not private or confidential or protected by the attorney-client privilege. The Expert above is not your attorney, and the response above is not legal advice. You should not read this response to propose specific action or address specific circumstances, but only to give you a sense of general principles of law that might affect the situation you describe. Application of these general principles to particular circumstances must be done by a lawyer who has spoken with you in confidence, learned all relevant information, and explored various options. Before acting on these general principles, you should hire a lawyer licensed to practice law in the jurisdiction to which your question pertains.

The responses above are from individual Experts, not JustAnswer. The site and services are provided “as is”. To view the verified credential of an Expert, click on the “Verified” symbol in the Expert’s profile. This site is not for emergency questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals. Please carefully read the Terms of Service (last updated February 8, 2012).